Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, China--Deep within this mountainous,
subtropical region in China's extreme southwest live a group of 12 minority
peoples who practice a version of Hinayana Buddhism that is virtually
unknown to the outside world. Li Wei and Min-kang Yang plan to capture the
essence of the area's Buddhist ritual and music among communities of Dai,
Xishuangbanna's largest minority group. Their effort, growing out of the
freedom allowed researchers only since the late 1980s, will contribute to
Buddhist and musical ethnographic studies and may help "stir up the
cultural consciousness" (as Wei and Yang put it) of the Dai and other
minorities.

Field Conditions: During the annual "Closing Door Festival," a regional
celebration of Hinyana Buddhism, volunteers will document religious and
folk activities, particularly Buddhist music, using audio, video, and
photography equipment. Teams stay in local hotels and eat in restaurants or
with local Dai families. Related interests: ethnomusicology, A/V recording,
Mandarin Chinese.

PHOTOS (COLOR): By examining the roots and the modern expressions of Siva
worship in India end a rare form of Buddhism In China, teams will help stir
up load cultural consciousness.